Who are the leaders of these respective groups? Captain Kangaroo and Homer Simpson?

In brief, the NHLPA said it wanted to have a meeting Wednesday, but its request was not greeted with open arms. The NHL said there is nothing to meet about because the players' union had rejected the owners' proposal last week and indicated they weren't making a new offer.

In other words, there will not be a new CBA on Thursday. And the NHL will move one step closer to being irrelevant.

But at least the league is providing comic relief.

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Isles to Brooklyn. The laughs keep coming, folks. With the lockout as its backdrop, the NHL will proudly announce on Wednesday that the New York Islanders will move to Brooklyn for the start of the 2015-16 season.